Tea tree (Melaleuca) oil intoxication in companion birds
Verbatim first-hand facts from Avian toxicoses: a review (peer-reviewed, open access, PMC12375962). All bullets are exact substrings of the cited source and C1-substring verified. Companion (pet) birds are the focus; the source is a peer-reviewed review of avian toxicoses.
Toxicology facts
- Tea tree oil Tea tree oil ( Melaleuca alterniflia ) intoxication in a pet cockatiel ( Nymphicus hollandicus ) has also been reported in a case report ( 30 ).
- Melaleuca alternifolia , which is otherwise known as the “Tea tree,” is an Australian species from the northern coast with a high content of terpinen-4-ol (more than 30% of gross weight) and a low content of cinenol (lower than 15%) ( 31 ).
- There have been some studies about the toxicity of Melaleuca alternifolia and its extract ( 30 , 34 – 36 ); however, only a few reports about the toxicity of other terpenes and their metabolites have been published ( 36 , 37 ).